13 journalists killed in as many months: RSF

Pakistan continues to be one of the deadliest countries in the world for media persons.

Pakistan continues to be one of the deadliest countries in the world for media persons with as many as 13 journalists killed over the past 13 months in the country.

At least 11 journalists have been killed in the country so far this year, says a press release issued by Reporters Sans Frontiers on Thursday.

Pakistani journalists, it said, were “extremely underpaid and exposed to all sorts of dangers”.

It said journalists not only have to contend with the lawlessness in the country’s tribal northwest, along its borders with Afghanistan, tensions with India, chaotic domestic political history, they also have to confront a daunting array of problems including terrorist threats, police violence, unbridled power of local potentates and dangerous conflicts in tribal areas.

Due to a lack of resources and ignorance of protective mechanisms, news media personnel often send their reporters out on the most dangerous assignments without any kind of safety net. At the same time, authorities show little consideration for professionals who keep on raising awkward issues.